DEFENDING THE PEN – is all about murder . . . and romance . . . writing it! I post interviews, book reviews, and flash fiction, and occasionally it's all about me. Careful . . . you may end up the victim . . . of fun!

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Monday, February 9, 2015

FARTS, RAGE, ROMANCE & DEATH

This weekend I read a truly delightful book
and it had a beginning, middle, and a very satisfying end. Hot Flashes and
Cold Lemonade by Susan Flett Swiderski has been in my to-be-read queue for way
too long, but I finally checked it off the constantly growing list.

My Review:

Hot Flashes and Cold Lemonade

By

Susan Flett Swiderski

Hot Flashes and Cold Lemonade is a book
of literary fiction that, and as you can tell from the title, touches on a time
of life many of us could write volumes about. You know the one where female
hormones fade and all those Y-chromosomes make their presence known in the form
of unexpected rage, uncontainable bodily functions, and flashes of unemotional
intelligence.

This
wonderfully humorous book follows the journey of one irrepressible glass half-full
dirty-blonde, Pearl Bryzinski. She's married to George, a hardworking, beer
drinking, not a romantic bone in his body, good guy. She has three lovely
children, and the first-born can do no wrong, he's her little boy, until
suddenly one night his expectations and her reality clash. Pearl has supportive
gal pals, a volatile relationship with her mother, and a father she's put on a 'can
do no wrong' pedestal.

It
all sounds ideal, but nothing in life is that easy. I enjoyed following Pearl
through the minefield that is the change. I especially enjoyed how menopause
influenced her actions and reactions to the people in her life that she had managed
to put in the crayon box of eight colors, only to find that true colors can't
be found in a box of eight or even thirty-six.

I
hate crying, but when an author can evoke tears and laughter, empathy and compassion,
I call that miraculous and take my hat off to Susan.

Despite
the fact that there is no mystery, no murder, and no horror, this will always
be one of my favorite books!

Writers who take ordinary life and write it with a
cleverness that keeps me turning the page are, in my opinion, super talented. Susan
Flett Swiderski is one of those writers.

Read her blog, I Think, Therefore I Yam and
you'll see humor and genius in every post. I look forward to more amazing reads
from this brilliant writer.

Susan Flett
Swiderski grew up in Dundalk, Maryland, where everybody calls everybody
"hon", fishing and crabbing is a way of life, and eating steamed
crabs is practically a sacrament. Although she loves her home in Georgia, a
part of her heart will always linger beside the shores of the Chesapeake Bay.
The rest of it enjoys life with her husband and love of her life (Luckily for
her, they're the same person.) and their two spoiled cats Dot and Dash. Strange
names, perhaps, but not for a couple of amateur radio operators. Susan and her
husband, that is. Not the cats.

Living
the perfect life has always been easy peasy for Pearl Bryzinski, because she’s
practically a pro at ignoring the negative and putting a positive spin on the
facts, but it’s impossible for her to find anything positive about Daddy
skipping town with that blue-haired floozy in a flashy brown Pinto. No matter
how hard she tries, she can’t ignore the fact that he’s gone… or the fact that
she’s becoming a drama queen who can sweat like a sumo wrestler doing push-ups
in a sauna. It’s almost enough to suck the blush out of her rose-colored
glasses. Whether she likes it or not, she’s gonna have to turn some of her
wishbone into backbone.

Layer by layer, assumptions and misconceptions peel away, as Pearl learns to
buck up in the face of reality, and to laugh at her imperfect… but not so bad…
life. Supported by a down-to-earth husband who loves her with every blue-collar
bone in his body, a mother who isn’t the self-centered witch Pearl imagined her
to be, three terrific grown kids… okay, make that two terrific kids, and a
Golden Boy who’s a far cry from 24-carat… and a bunch of wonderful wacky gal
pals, Pearl comes to realize that her mixed bag of family and friends makes her
life damned near perfect. Pearl being Pearl, she’ll never give up her rosy
specs entirely, but learning to handle reality also means learning to deal with
death.

Loved the book, can you tell. Thanks for the update - I spent an hour looking for the passage about her hair color, so thanks for the clarification. Change made! A really funny read, and I forgive you for the tears. Very well done!

What would we do without great gal pals, lol! They sure add perspective to the happenings in life and laugh and cry with you when you need it. I find they become more important as the years go by. Sounds like a fun book!

This should just about be the last time I use this computer that doesn't like loading. It took me ages to get here, so long that I went for an hour long stroll with dog and hey presto, your site had loaded!

Enough about me. Susan is the bestest and well funny. Her book is a must-read and you know I shared this here post on all them there social "notworking" sites, even "Farcebook"!

All the best to Susan, one of my adoring fans. Thanks for sharing this, Yolanda.

Would love to hear from you, say hello and leave your blog address - I'll visit, but please take with you my undying gratitude that you stopped by for a read. Be well, be happy, and may your blog surfing bring you joy!